A conversation with the Vernon Voyager

Luke Alphonso | Staff Writer

Wednesday

Jul 18, 2018 at 9:40 AM

The Vernon Voyager takes pride in the sights of Vernon Parish, something she urges all of its residences to do as well.

Since April 2018, the greater Vernon Parish community has been treated to an assortment of photographs and written pieces about the history and sights to be found within the region, thanks to the Vernon Voyager.

The Vernon Voyager has teamed with the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission in an effort to showcase Vernon Parish, not only to bring in visitors to the region but also to remind local residents of what their home has to offer.

“This has always been to really single in on that pride in the surrounding area, to remind everyone of the beauty that’s to be found in this land and in our history,” the Voyager said.

The Voyager has shown Vernon Parish several corners of its lands and history, from smokehouses in Simpson to aerial views of both Fort Polk and downtown Leesville from the past.

She encourages the people of Vernon Parish to go searching for some of the sights that are hidden right under our noses.

“I’ve never really considered myself a photographer,” Voyager said. “I always thought of myself as a painter, but I think it gets a little easy to find the perfect shot here in Louisiana because what we have here is just so beautiful.

“If I’m walking down a creek, I can just stare at the waters and realize that this is a photograph just waiting to happen.”

The one thing she wants to stress to the people that live in this area is there should never be a reason to be bored.

“There’s thousands of years of history buried all across Vernon Parish alone,” Voyager said. “I haven’t come close to cracking all of it, mind you, but I definitely want to continue to dig and learn more. I think that’s what is so important, though. Discovery, because for example, Kisatchie National Park is around 600,000 acres of wildlife and nature. There’s so much to uncover there, so much for us to revere.”

The Vernon Voyager continues to work with the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission, writing articles on the Commission website along with posting photographs on the Commission Facebook Page and her own.